Joe Biden has won the state of Nevada, in another major victory in his successful run to be the next president of the United States.
Nevada was a crucial battleground and one of the last remaining states to process its results before election analysts reported a victory for Biden, four days after Election Day.
Less than an hour before the news broke, Biden was declared president after having crucially won Pennsylvania, giving him enough electoral collage votes to become the president.
Trump had made a strong play in Nevada, holding several rallies there in the final stretch of the campaign. Democrat Hillary Clinton narrowly won the state in 2016, and Republicans saw an opening to expand their electoral map.
More than 100 million people across the country voted by mail this year in a historic expansion of early voter turnout due to the coronavirus pandemic, along with expanded absentee ballot options.
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In winning Nevada, Mr Biden secured an additional six electoral votes. At least 270 votes in the Electoral College are required to win the presidency.
The pandemic has pummeled Nevada's tourism-dependent economy, especially, hampering Trump's ability to make inroads in the state. Nevada is also home to a large Hispanic population, a voting bloc that typically leans Democratic. The last Republican presidential candidate to win Nevada was George W. Bush in 2004.
Counties have until 12 November to count ballots, following a deadline of 10 November by which all mail-in ballots postmarked by Election Day must be received by elections officials.
Anxious Americans waiting for Nevada’s call – among a handful of states allowed extended mail-in vote deadlines amid the coronavirus pandemic and groaning delays at the US Postal Service – were met by election officials’ insistence on accuracy and deliberation over speed, echoing concerns across the US as vote counters laboured over an unprecedented number of mail-in ballots for days.
Donald Trump’s campaign announced it would file a lawsuit against the state of Nevada before the final results were called, claiming voter fraud without providing any evidence.
As his path to re-election narrowed, Mr Trump and his campaign have falsely claimed that there is rampant voter fraud in states where they are losing to Mr Biden, while simultaneously demanding votes are counted in states where they appear to be closing in on the Democratic nominee’s lead.
Still, Mr Biden had secured the votes required to oust Mr Trump, the Republican incumbent who began his re-election campaign the day he stepped foot in the Oval Office, signing the paperwork to begin campaigning on Inauguration Day.
This is a breaking story and will be updated.
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